Copy/Repost Hike

On Sunday, September 6th , seven of us (George, Doug, Jeff, Charles, Mike, Charles and myself) met up at the AT/LT parking lot off of the Stratton-Arlington Road for a loop out to Stratton Mountain and Stratton Pond.  We waited until about 9:30AM to start, since there were still 2 guys missing (*see below).  After heading back along the road to search for them and not finding anyone, we set out.  It was an absolutely beautiful day with sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-70's.  The walk up to the summit was for the most part pretty easy going as it gains its elevation through a series of switchbacks.  We took our time and took breaks as necessary, chatting along the way.  We reached the summit at about 11:30AM and there were a number of other folks up there who had walked over from the ski lift on North Stratton Mountain.    At the summit we enjoyed an extended break...climbing up the fire tower to enjoy the views, since the summit is wooded and just hanging out and talking.  It was about noon when we continued along the AT/LT which descended gradually into the Lye Brook Wilderness.  We made good time, taking only a couple of breaks along the trail.  We reached Stratton Pond and had our lunch.  A couple of the guys (Charles and Jeff) enjoyed the warm waters of the pond while we lunched at the shore.  Around 2PM we started back taking the Stratton Pond Trail, which meandered through the woods on the way back to the road.  The trail came out on the road a little over a half mile from where we parked and after a short distance on the road we reached our cars again at about 4PM.  After the hike most of us (except for Mike who wanted to get a start on heading back) headed over to the Out Back Restaurant at Windhall River (somewhere near Bondville,VT) for a nice meal to cap off the day.  It was a wonderful day...weatherwise and with the group of guys who participated.  Thanks to George, Doug, Jeff, Charles, Mike and Charles for making this a great hike.  Hope to see you all again on future hikes!!

* The missing guys, Tom and Joe, had apparently met up at the parking lot near the Grout Pond Trail.  It was strange that I didn't find them here when I drove back along the road looking for them.  The LT/AT parking lot was just a short distance further down the road and they didn't go looking for us.  When they didn't find us they headed south to Grout Pond for a short hike.  At least they were able to enjoy this hike together.

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